Tampon Container That Adheres To Toilet

ABSTRACT

A container for feminine hygiene products. The container is designed to hold feminine hygiene products and to be placed on the side of a toilet or other vertical surface. The container has a body compartment, a mounting assembly, a top lid, a hinge, and a latch. The body compartment has an open top and is sized to hold a variety of tampons. The lid is operatively connected to the body by the hinge and closes to cover the open top of the body. The hinge is biased to keep the lid in an open position. The latch releasably secures the top lid in the closed position. The mounting assembly, such as suction cups, allows the container to be secured to the side of a toilet. In that position, the container provides feminine hygiene products easily accessible to a female user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/547,866, filed on Aug. 26, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No 61/092,189, filed on Aug. 27, 2008, thecontents of which are incorporated herein fully by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to containers for holding feminine hygieneproducts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A quick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container comprisinga body compartment, a top lid, a mechanism for movably connecting thetop lid to the body compartment in a manner that biases the top lid tobe in the open position, a flange, a pressure sensitive latch mechanism,and a mounting assembly. The body compartment has a floor, a front wall,a back wall, a first side wall and a second side wall. The side wallsoppose each other with one side wall adjoined to one end of the frontand back walls and the other side wall adjoined to the opposite end ofthe front and back walls in a manner where all four walls are securedto, the floor at a lower edge so that the upper edges of the walls forman opening at the top of the body compartment. The top lid has similaropening dimensions as the body compartment. The lid is moveably attachedto at least one wall of the body compartment and wherein the lid hasfour walls adjoined to a top lid surface so that the lower edge of thefour walls form an opening at the bottom of the lid. The flange adheresto the opening of the lid so that when closed, the flanged lid coversthe top of the body compartment and conceals the juncture between thebody compartment and the lid. The mechanism for moveably connecting thetop lid to the body compartment is selected from the group comprising aspring loaded pivotal hinge assembly, slide assembly, ridge assembly andrail assembly. The pressure sensitive latch mechanism comprises a latchhook mechanism affixed to the top lid that clasps onto a catch,mechanism affixed to the body compartment. The latch hook mechanism,when touched, releases the lid from the body container and opens thecontainer. The mounting assembly is attached to the outside back wall ofthe body and selected from the group of suction cups, brackets andVelcro fasteners.

In another embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises a methodof providing tampons or similar feminine hygiene products within theproximity of a toilet. The method comprises providing a quick releasetampon and feminine hygiene product container near the toilet, mountingthe quick release tampon container on or within arm's reach of a toilet,and providing one or more tampons or other feminine hygiene products inthe quick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container forready one-hand access by a person sitting on or situated near a toilet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container built in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side plan view of the container from FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a right side plan view of the container from FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a back side plan view of the container from FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front side plan view of the container from FIG. 1

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment for a latch to be used with thecontainer of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows the container of FIG. 1 attached to a toilet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Most females are aware of an approximate date when their menstrualperiod is coming; however, the exact start day and time is a surpriseeach month. This is usually discovered while on the toilet. Unless thefemale has shelving or storage of some kind close to the toilet, she isin a predicament as to how to obtain a tampon or sanitary napkin withoutgetting blood on her clothes or floor. Other problems can manifest iftampons with different characteristics are not readily available.

The present invention has for its purpose to provide a container that iseasily accessible and opened to expose tampons with variedcharacteristics—giving the user a choice of which tampon to usedepending on the need of that particular female. Although the containeras will be described is preferably attached to a toilet for easy access,a nearby sink, lavatory, or other surface within reach would work aswell. Mounting to a toilet is superior to a wall, for instance,because: 1) many females do not have a wall within arm's length from thetoilet, 2) the female user can remain seated at all times to obtain atampon, and 3) tampons will be readily available at that unexpectedtime.

Turning now to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, shown thereinis a tampon box built in accordance with the present invention. Thetampon box is a container 10 used to conveniently store tampons ofvarious sizes or characteristics. The container 10 comprises a bodycompartment 12, a top lid 14, a latch 16, and a mounting assembly 18.Preferably the container 10 will be formed of hard molded plastic.Alternative materials are contemplated, however, such as fiberglass,paper, or recycled or other eco-friendly material.

The body compartment 12 defines an open top 20 in which a variety oftampons can be stored. The compartment 12 is comprised of a floor 22, afront wall 24, a back wall 26, and two side walls 28 and 30. The first28 and second 30 side walls oppose each other and are each connected tothe front wall 24 and the back wall 26. Securing the floor 22 to abottom portion to each of the walls 24, 26, 28, and 30 creates the opentopped compartment 12 for supporting a plurality of tampons. One skilledin the art will appreciate the use of fixed or removable dividers thatmay be inserted between the front wall 24 and the back wall 26 to allowfor compartmentalized storage in the body 12.

Preferably, a width and length of the compartment 12 will be sized tohold at least eight (8) tampons, and preferably tampons of at least twodifferent varieties for selection by a female user. More preferably, aheight of the body compartment 12 will be less than the length of atampon, allowing at least a portion of a tampon in the compartment toextend out of the open top 20 of the compartment. As standard tamponsare approximate 4¾ inches long in their packaging, the height of thebody compartment is preferably 3 inches. Allowing the body compartment12 to have a width of 5 inches and a depth 2½ inches will allow forstorage of a desired variety of tampons.

With reference now to FIGS. 1-3, the top lid 14 preferably comprises alid compartment 32 providing a volume suitable to receive the portion ofthe tampon extending from the body compartment 12. The lid compartment32 comprises a top surface 34, a front wall 36, a back wail 38, andfirst 40 and second 42 side walls. The side walls 40 and 42 oppose eachother and are connected to the front wall 36 and the back wall 38.Securing the top surface 34 to a top portion of each of the walls 36,38, 40, and 42 creates the lid compartment 32 that defines an openbottom 44. Preferably, the open bottom 44 of the lid compartment 32 issubstantially the same size as the open top 20 of the body 12. Morepreferably, the lid 14 further comprises a flange 46 secured to the lidcompartment 32 around a perimeter of the open bottom 44. When the lid 14is in the closed position (shown in FIG. 2), the flange 46 rests on theperimeter of the open top 20, allowing for complete coverage of the topof the body 12. The flange 46 also provides for the body compartment 12to be water resistant—allowing for spray cleaners to be used withoutgetting tampons in the container 10 wet, for example.

The lid 14 is movable between an open position and a closed position. Inthe open position, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid 14 is positionedsubstantially perpendicular to the body compartment 12. In the closedposition, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the lid 14 rests on the bodycompartment 12, covering the open top 20 of the compartment.Alternatively, the top lid 14 may be designed to slide along theperimeter of the open top 20 of the body 12 using a ridge or railassembly along the first 28 and second 30 side walls of the body.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 3, a hinge 50 is used to pivotallyconnect the lid 14 to the body compartment 12. Preferably, the hinge 50is adapted to bias the lid 14 to the open position. The hinge 50 isoperatively connected to the second side wall 30 of the body 12 and thesecond wall 42 of the top lid 14. In this way, the top 14 is pivotallyconnected to the body 12 so that the top opens away from the first sidewall 28. Alternative designs are contemplated so that the top 14 maypivot in a different direction. For example, the hinge 50 could beplaced on the front wall 24 to allow the top 14 to pivot away from theback wall 26.

In the preferred embodiment, the second side wall 30 comprises two hingeload supports 52 secured to an exterior of the wall proximate the opentop 20 of the body 12. Preferably, the load supports 52 are integrallyformed with the side wall 30. The lid 14 comprises a hinge wing 54 on anexterior of the second wall 42 of the lid and positioned to fit betweenthe load supports 52. The hinge 50 comprises a spring 56 disposed arounda load pin 58. The load pin 58 is supported by load supports 52 and thehinge wing 54. The spring 52, wound around the pin 58, includes a lidcontact 60 and a wall contact 62. The bias of the spring 52 operates toforce the lid contact 60 and wall contact 62 to move away from eachother, thus biasing the lid 14 into the open position. One skilled inthe art will appreciate structure may be used to control the pivot ofthe top 14 to the open position. For example, rubber bands (not shown)connected between midpoints on the sides walls 28 and 30 of the body 12and the side walls 40 and 42 of the top lid 14 may regulate the pivotmotion of the top.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the latch 16 operates to releasablysecure the top lid 14 in the closed position. Preferably, the latch 16is disposed on the first side wall 28 of the body 12 proximate the opentop 20. The latch 16 comprises a lid catch 64 and a release 66. Thecatch 64 is disposed to engage the top lid 14 when the lid is in theclosed position, maintaining the lid in the closed position. The release66 is adapted to disengage the catch 64 from the lid 14. Preferably, therelease 66 is a button or other structure that may be moved under slightpressure from the female user of the container 10. One skilled in theart will appreciate the latch 16 will allow the female user ease of usewhen sitting, when turning around and using two hands may beimpractical. More preferably, the release 66 is biased to an up positionallowing the catch 66 to engage the lid 14, and may be moved to a downposition that causes the catch to disengage from the lid.

Preferably, the catch 64 and release 66 are supported within aspring-loaded housing on the first side wall 28. More preferably, thecatch 64 comprises an arm having a hook at an end of the arm. The arm isbiased in a latched position by a spring supported against a back sideof the housing such that the hook extends above the open top 20 in aposition to catch the lid 14. The release 66 button is supported againsta front side of the housing and against the arm at a point above thespring. As the button is moved to a down position, the button forces thearm against the spring, causing the spring to compress and the hook tomove away from and release the lid 14. When pressure on the button isreleased, the spring will extend against the arm and force the buttonback to the up position. One skilled in the art will appreciatealternative structures for the latch 16, such as electronicallyactivated catches or rotating or pivoting catches to engage the lid.

An alternative embodiment for the latch 16 a is shown in FIG. 6. Asshown therein, the latch 16 a comprises a latch tab 68 on the first sidewall 28 proximate the open top 20. A latch hook 70 is pivotally disposedon the first side wall 40 of the lid 14. The hook 70 is pivoted to latchand secure to the tab 68 when the lid is in the closed position. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate the latch hook 70 could be releasedfrom the tab 68 with pressure from the user's thumb, resulting in thetop lid 14 moving to the open position.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-5, the mounting assembly 18 is operativelysecured to an exterior of the back wall 26 of the body compartment 12.Preferably, the mounting assembly 18 comprises at least one suction cup72. More preferably, the assembly 18 comprises two suction cups 72vertically separated on the back wall 26. The suction cups 72 allow forthe container 10 to be easily secured to any clean dry surface, such asa lavatory, a mirror, or a wall. Preferably, the contained 10 will besecured to the side of a toilet tank. Suction cups 72 are the preferredway to mount the container 10 because they can be cleaned easily, areeasily attachable, and remain secure to the composition of most toilets.One skilled in the art will appreciate other means of mounting thecontainer 10 to a toilet, shelf, or wall, such as with brackets orVelcro.

Mounting the container 10 on the side of a toilet tank 74, as shown inFIG. 7, allows the user easy access to the tampons housed in thecontainer. As described, the container 10 can be easily opened with onehand. The top 14 opens away from the user and parallel to the side ofthe tank 74 of the toilet, allowing for easy access to the tampons inthe body compartment 12. The lid compartment 32 is sized so that whenthe top 14 is pivoted to the open position the top lid clears the top ofthe tampons in the body compartment 12.

Various modifications can be made in the design and operation of thepresent invention without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, whilethe principal preferred construction of the invention has been explainedin what is now considered to represent its best embodiments, which havebeen illustrated and described, it should be understood that theinvention, may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustratedand described.

1. A quick release tampon and feminine hygiene product containercomprising: a body compartment having a floor, a front wall, a backwall, a first side wall and a second side wall, the side walls opposingeach other with one side wall adjoined to one end of the front and backwalls and the other side wall adjoined to the opposite end of the frontand back walls in a manner where all four walls are secured to the floorat a lower edge so that the upper edges of the walls form an opening atthe top of the body compartment; a top lid with similar openingdimensions as the body compartment, said lid moveably attached to atleast one wall of the body compartment and wherein the lid has fourwalls adjoined to a top lid surface so that the lower edge of the fourwalls form an opening at the bottom of the lid; a flange adhered to theopening of the lid so that when closed, the flanged lid covers the topof the body compartment and conceals the juncture between the bodycompartment and the lid; a mechanism for moveably connecting the top lidto the body compartment in a manner that biases the top lid to be in theopen position, said means selected from the group comprising a springloaded pivotal hinge assembly, slide assembly, ridge assembly and railassembly; a pressure sensitive latch mechanism comprising a latch hookmechanism affixed to the top lid that clasps onto a catch mechanismaffixed to the body compartment, said latch hook mechanism when touched,releases the lid from the body container and opens the container; and amounting assembly attached to the outside back wall of the body selectedfrom the group of suction cups, brackets and Velcro fasteners.
 2. Thequick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 1further comprising an internal divider inserted between the front andback and/or the side walls of the compartment.
 3. The quick releasetampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 1 wherein thedimensions of the body compartment are less than 4.75 inches in height,about 5 inches wide and about 2.5 inches deep.
 4. The quick releasetampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 3 wherein theheight is about 3 inches.
 5. The quick release tampon and femininehygiene product container of claim 1 wherein the spring loaded pivotalhinge assembly comprises: at least one hinge load support affixed to aside wall: and a hinge wing positioned between the hinge load supportsis affixed to the top lid said hinge assembly comprising: a load pin; aspring having contact with the lid and a wall of the body compartment;and a pin secured in the load supports that passes through the hingewing and the spring such that the lid contact of the spring is disposedto be in contact with the lid and the wall contact of the spring isdisposed to be in contact with the second side wall.
 6. The container ofclaim 1 wherein the top lid comprises: a lid compartment comprising: atop surface; a front wall: a back wall; and a first side wall and asecond side wall, the side walls opposing each other and connected tothe front wall and the back wall; wherein the hinge is connected to thesecond side wall; and wherein the lid compartment defines an open bottomsubstantially the same size as the open top of the body.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 6 wherein the lid further comprises a flange around aperimeter of the open bottom of the compartment, such that when the lidis in the closed position the flange rests on the perimeter of the opentop of the body.
 8. The container of claim 1 wherein the latch mechanismis secured to the first side wall of the body compartment.
 9. The quickrelease tampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 8 whereinthe latch comprises a catch and a release, said catch adapted to engagethe lid when closed and wherein the release is adapted to disengage thecatch from the lid.
 10. The quick release tampon and feminine hygieneproduct container of claim 8 wherein the latch comprises a hook, thebody comprises a tab, and the hook is adapted to engage the tab when thelid is in the closed position.
 11. The quick release tampon and femininehygiene product container of claim 1 wherein the latch mechanism issecured to the lid,
 12. The quick release tampon and feminine hygieneproduct container of claim 1 wherein the means for moveably connectingthe top lid comprises a hinge used to pivotally connect the top lid tothe body compartment wherein the hinge is operatively connected to awall of the body compartment and the juxtaposed wall of the top lid. 13.The quick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim12 wherein the hinge is adapted to bias the top lid in an open positionholding the lid open in substantially a perpendicular position relativeto the opening of the body compartment.
 14. The quick release tampon andfeminine hygiene product container of claim 1 wherein the means formoveably connecting the top lid comprises a means to slide the top lidalong the perimeter of the open top of the body compartment.
 15. Thequick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 1wherein the means for moveably connecting the top lid comprises a ridgeor rail assembly coordinately fitted for sliding the top lid along twoopposing walls of the body compartment.
 16. The quick release tampon andfeminine hygiene product container of claim 1 wherein the flange issecured to the perimeter of the opening of the lid compartment.
 17. Thequick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container of claim 1is formed of a hard molded material.
 18. The container of claim 17wherein the hard molded material comprises one or more of the materialsselected from the group comprising hard molded plastic, fiberglass,paper, and recycled material.
 19. The quick release tampon and femininehygiene product container of claim 1 wherein the container furthercomprises one or more tampons, wherein the one or more tampons arelocated within the body compartment.
 20. A method of providing tamponsor similar feminine hygiene products within the proximity of a toilet,wherein the method comprises: providing a quick release tampon andfeminine hygiene product container near the toilet wherein saidcontainer comprises: a body compartment having a floor, a front wall, aback wall, a first side wall and a second side wall, the side wallsopposing each other with one side wall adjoined to one end of the frontand back walls and the other side wall adjoined to the opposite end ofthe front and back walls in a manner where all four walls are secured tothe floor at a lower edge so that the upper edges of the walls form anopening at the top of the body compartment; a top lid with similaropening dimensions as the body compartment, which is moveably attachedto at least one wall of the body compartment and wherein the lid hasfour walls adjoined to a top lid surface so that the lower edge of thefour walls form an opening at the bottom of the lid; a flange adhered tothe opening of the lid so that when closed, the flanged lid covers thetop of the body compartment and conceals the juncture between the bodycompartment and the lid; a mechanism for moveably connecting the top lidto the body compartment biasing the top lid to be in the open positionsaid means selected from the group comprising a spring loaded pivotalhinge assembly, slide assembly, ridge assembly and rail assembly; apressure sensitive latch mechanism comprising a latch hook mechanismaffixed to the top lid that clasps onto a catch mechanism affixed to thebody compartment, said latch hook mechanism when touched, releases thelid from the body container and opens the container; a mounting assemblyattached to the outside back wall of the body selected from the group ofsuction cups, brackets and Velcro fasteners; and mounting the quickrelease tampon container n or within arm's reach of a toilet; andproviding one or more tampons or other feminine hygiene products in thequick release tampon and feminine hygiene product container for readyone-hand access by a person sitting on or situated near a toilet.